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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · foot · clip · chair · race · hand · net · firm

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. race — humankind
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. clip — for paper
  9. foot — a measure
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — steady
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — money
  15. net — in sport
  16. hand — help
  17. net — after costs
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — a company
  20. net — for catching
  21. capital — a city
  22. race — a contest
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com